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Verizon Wireless
Company Profile

by Faulkner Staff

Copyright 2021, Faulkner Information Services. All Rights Reserved.

Docid: 00017067

Publication Date: 2110

Report Type: VENDOR

Preview

Verizon Wireless began as a joint venture between Verizon
Communications and Vodafone Group. Now a wholly-owned division of Verizon
Communications, Verizon Wireless operates one of the top mobile phone and data
carriers in the US. The company launched its 4G Long-Term Evolution (LTE) network in
December 2010 and is currently rolling out its 5G network across the country. 

Report Contents:

• Fast Facts
• Related Reports
• Profile
• Product Lines
• Activity

Fast Facts

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Name: Verizon Wireless

Headquarters

1 Verizon Way

Basking Ridge, NJ 07920-1025

Phone: (908) 559-7000

Fax: (908) 306-6927

Web: https://www.verizonwireless.com/

Type: Wireless Service Provider

Service Areas: Nationwide US + offers global voice and data services in more than 200 destinations
around the world

Founded: 2000

---

Profile

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Verizon Wireless started out in 2000 as a joint venture between Verizon Communications and Vodafone Group (with
Verizon Communications owning
55 percent and Vodafone Group the remaining 45 percent). In 2014, Verizon
Communications completed the acquisition of Vodafone’s stake in Verizon Wireless
for $130 billion. 

The company is
currently the
nation’s number two wireless provider in terms of number of market share. Its
operating revenue consistently accounts for nearly three quarters of Verizon
Communications' total for any given quarter.

Verizon Wireless claims it has the fastest and most advanced 4G network in the US. Currently, 4G LTE service is available in
more than 500 markets covering a
population of more than 332 million across the nation. In 2017, Verizon
Wireless began deploying its 5G trial network. By the middle of 2021, about
71 cities had access to the company's 5G coverage. 

History & Milestone Events

Verizon Wireless operates the nation’s most statistically reliable wireless voice and data network. Major
milestones in its history include the following:

• 2000—Verizon Wireless began operations on April 4th as the wireless
  joint venture of Vodafone AirTouch and Bell Atlantic; added GTE Wireless
  assets on June 30th to become nation’s largest wireless communications
  provider; joint venture is 55 percent owned by Verizon Communications and 45
  percent owned by Vodafone.
• 2001—Introduced digital network technology to the New York City
  and Northern New Jersey metropolitan areas.
• 2002—Became the first wireless carrier in the US to offer a
  2G network based on the CDMA2000 1x standard and announced
  plans to offer the Express Network nationwide by the end of the year;
  offered its Get It Now service and corresponding handsets, which allowed
  consumers to access and download wireless content, including games and
  applications.
• 2003—Introduced commercial Wi-Fi services, powered by Wayport, as
  well as Push-To-Talk (PTT) services to compete with Nextel Direct Connect;
  launched its BroadbandAccess network.
• 2004—Awarded contracts to Lucent Technologies and Nortel Networks
  for the expansion of its 3G BroadbandAccess network; reached 40 million
  subscribers in the second quarter.
• 2005—Completed the acquisition of cellular assets in southeast
  Arizona from Valley Telecommunications.
• 2006—Completed investments in networks in Colorado, Idaho,
  Montana, Wyoming, and Utah markets; agreed to acquire Cal-One Cellular,
  which operated under the Cal North Wireless brand in northern California,
  for 49 cell sites, related network equipment, and a license covering 214,000
  people; agreed to acquire Mid-Missouri Cellular’s operating assets in seven
  counties in central Missouri; purchased the operating assets of West Virginia Wireless.
• 2007—With the departure of Verizon Communications’ President
  Lawrence Babbio, Jr., the company named Lowell McAdam, its former Executive VP and COO, as President and CEO;
  launched V CAST Mobile TV and its CDMA2000 EV-DO Revision A (Rev A) network;
  Vodafone Chairman Arun Sarin announced that Verizon Wireless, as well as
  Vodafone, will use Long Term Evolution (LTE) for their 4G networks; Rural
  Cellular (Unicel) shareholders approved its take-over by Verizon Wireless
  for about $2.67 billion USD; gave customers the ability to change calling
  plans without requiring contract extensions.
• 2008—Purchased the wireless assets of SureWest Communications for
  $69 million USD, including SureWest Wireless’ spectrum licenses and network
  assets in the greater Sacramento area, covering 3.8 million people;
  announced that it wanted to acquire the regional wireless carrier Alltel
  for $5.9 billion USD to create the largest cell phone company in
  the US with more than 80 million users, overtaking AT&T; announced
  industry-first month-to-month agreements on all Nationwide Voice and Data
  plans for both new and current contract customers; launched V CAST Music
  with Rhapsody; FCC approved the Alltel acquisition.
• 2009—Completed the acquisition of Alltel on January 9th to become
  the nation’s largest carrier in terms of total customers;
  selected Ericsson and Alcatel-Lucent as vendors to supply the infrastructure
  for its commercial LTE-based service in the US, starting in 2010; announced
  partnership with Google for Android-based devices and services.
• 2010—Became exclusive launch partner for Microsoft’s new Kin feature
  phone line; announced that it would begin selling Apple’s iPad at retail
  locations beginning in October; launched the 4G LTE-based network in 38
  markets in December.
• 2011—Announced at CES the first 10 devices that
  will operate on the 4G network; debuted the Apple iPhone in February;
  began selling the HTC Thunderbolt, the first phone to work on its 4G
  network; launched its 4G LTE network in 165
  markets covering a population of more than 186 million across the nation, with plans to cover its entire 3G network footprint by the end of 2013;
  introduced five new 4G LTE devices – the DROID BIONIC by Motorola, Pantech Breakout, Samsung Galaxy Tab, Compaq Mini Netbook, and HP
  Pavilion Notebook – with the Apple iPhone 4S and DROID RAZR by Motorola
  rolling out before the end of 2011.
• 2012—Completed the purchase of wireless assets in New Mexico RSA
  #6, owned by ENMR Telephone Cooperative and which operated under the name
  Plateau Wireless. Announced that Marquette, Michigan had become its 400th
  LTE network market. Began offering the iPhone 5 and the Samsung Galaxy
  Stellar on its LTE network. Following approval from the FCC, Verizon
  Wireless began acquiring advanced wireless (AWS) spectrum licenses from
  SpectrumCo in an effort to deploy additional LTE capacity.
• 2013—Frontier Communications sold its stake in Mohave Wireless to
  Verizon Wireless for an undisclosed sum. Sold 39 lower 700 MHz B Block spectrum
  licenses to AT&T in exchange for $1.9 billion.
• 2014—Completed the acquisition of Vodafone’s 45 percent stake in Verizon
  Wireless for $130 billion. 
• 2015 – Verizon is working with Alcatel-Lucent, Cisco, Ericsson,
  Nokia, Qualcomm, Intel, and Samsung to develop fifth-generation (5G)
  technology, which is expected to have 50 times the throughput of current 4G
  LTE. Field trials will begin in 2016. Verizon Wireless began offering
  travelers roaming capabilities in Cuba, the first wireless provider to do
  so. 
• 2016 – Verizon Wireless announces that it is the
  exclusive provider for Pixel and Pixel XL, the first two smartphones in
  Google's new flagship, self-branded line.
• 2018 – Verizon Wireless turned on its 5G Home network in October in
  parts of Houston, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, and Sacramento. 
• 
  2019
  – The vendor expects to have 5G Ultra Wideband rolled out in
  30 cities by the end of the year. 
• 2020 – Verizon Wireless announces a year-end target of
  bringing mmWave 5G services to 66 markets and begins rolling out its first
  sub-6GHz 5G locations and first in-home 5G broadband services. The carrier's
  5G offerings provide up to 1Gbps speeds for at-home and mobile broadband, in
  select locations.
• 2021 – Verizon delays its intended sunset date of
  January 1, 2021 for its 2G and 3G CDMA network to December 31, 2022,
  confirming that all 3G and earlier device owners will be required to update
  their models by that time in order to retain network access.

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Verizon Wireless offers communications products and services, which include
wireless voice and data services as well as equipment sales for consumers,
businesses, and those in the government sector. 

Competition is heavy in the wireless services market, but Verizon Wireless
sees the following factors as keys in its continued and future success.

• Network reliability, capacity, and coverage – Improved service quality,
  reliable services, and new service offerings are among the main reasons
  that customers use Verizon Wireless. According to the vendor, the
  depth and efficiency of its network is among its main strengths. 
• Pricing – The company says it continually faces competition from other
  vendors who offer targeted promotions to its customers in efforts to lure
  them away. Verizon Wireless counters this by offering products and
  services that it expects customers will regard as the best value for the
  price along with service plans that meet their wireless needs. 
• Customer service – Promoting high quality customer service is, according
  to Verizon Wireless, a key component in retaining long time customers and
  attracting new ones. 
• Product and service development – Since enhanced products and
  technologies are in high demand from consumers, Verizon Wireless pursues
  development and rapid deployment of such offerings both alone and with
  third party application and content providers as well as device
  manufacturers.
• Sales and distribution – The optimal combination of various distribution
  channels is critical to Verizon Wireless’ profitability. Company-operated
  stores, outside sales representatives, telemarketing, Web-based sales and
  fulfillment, and an indirect distribution network of retail outlets are
  among the methods used to promote sales. 
• Capital resources – Verizon Wireless has the backing of its parent
  company to improve capacity and coverage while rolling out new products
  and services to meet customer demand. The company generates significant
  cash flow from operations. 

Strengths

Verizon
Wireless leads the industry with an LTE footprint in more markets than any other
competitor. Verizon claims that it has LTE coverage in over 500 US
markets, covering about 332 million people. 

In July 2021 RootMetrics, an independent mobile analytics firm, ranked
wireless providers in the US and named Verizon Wireless as the top performer, beating out AT&T and T-Mobile in overall
performance, network reliability, and 5G performance.
This is the 14th consecutive time that Verizon Wireless has won the RootMetrics
overall network performance award. The company won or tied for the lead in 94
percent of service areas tested.

Verizon Wireless also boasts one of the fastest 5G networks in the US, with
its mmWave-based services far oustripping the wider-ranging offerings from AT&T
and T-Mobile. Unfortunately, the ultra-high-frequency network that powers mmWave
services give them very limited range meaning that Verizon's best 5G speeds are
available only within small segments of high-population metro areas. That said,
the company is working to expand these areas as rapidly as possible, adding
additional cities and larger service areas within existing metros. Thankfully,
for those that would rather not wait for Verizon's fastest tier of 5G services
to reach them, the company announced, alongside the 2020 debut of Apple's iPhone 12,
that it has commenced its nationwide rollout of sub-6GHz 5G services. These much
wider ranging network access points can provide coverage to far broader areas,
albeit at a somewhat slower than 1Gbps speed. Verizon claims that this network
will eventually grow to reach 300 million people in 1,800 markets across the US.
However, at the time of writing, it had yet to provide a complete list or
timeline detailing its planned progress for the rollout.

Weaknesses

Customers of Verizon Wireless have complained about having much slower
service due to throttling by the company. Bandwidth throttling is intentional
slowing of services by an ISP. In many of these instances, Verizon Wireless used
throttling during emergency situations like the 2018 California wildfires.
"This throttling has had a significant impact on our ability to provide
emergency services. Verizon imposed these limitations despite being informed
that throttling was actively impeding County Fire’s ability to provide crisis
response and essential emergency services," Santa Clara, CA Fire Chief
Anthony Bowden wrote in a statement.¹ A fire department vehicle, OES
5262, deployed to the Mendocino Complex Fire, one of the largest in California
history, uses a Verizon SIM card for Internet access. Bowden wrote that the data
connection during the incident was affected by throttling conducted by Verizon,
reducing data rates to 1/200, or less, than previous speeds. These reduced
speeds severely interfered with OES 5262’s ability to function effectively. My
Information Technology staff communicated directly with Verizon via email about
the throttling, requesting it be immediately lifted for public safety
purposes."² However, full data speeds were not immediately
restored. Instead, Verizon told the fire company that it would need to switch to
a higher priced data plan and would only cancel the throttling once the company
confirmed the switchover with Verizon’s billing department. Obviously, it was
difficult to upgrade during the deadly fire, which raged for nearly two months,
so County Fire turned to other agencies’ ISPs and personal devices to connect.
In Bowden’s statement, he said, "In light of our experience, County Fire
believes it is likely that Verizon will continue to use the exigent nature of
public safety emergencies and catastrophic events to coerce public agencies into
higher-cost plans, ultimately paying significantly more for mission-critical
service – even if that means risking harm to public safety during
negotiations."³ In October 2019, California signed into law that
it is illegal for ISPs to throttle public safety mobile communications during
emergency situations. The legislation was widely opposed by the wireless
industry. 

Verizon received backlash following the devastation left in the wake of
2018's Hurricane Michael after FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and Florida Governor Rick Scott
each criticized the company for its slow response to the disaster. Scott,
however, praised AT&T for its response. The governor said in a statement,
"Floridians deserve to be treated fairly and with transparency. Families
understand that the telecommunications industry… experienced catastrophic
damage to vital infrastructure – but that does not change our expectation that
each telecommunications company will be open and communicate a clear plan on how
they intend to quickly restore service… Verizon recently said in a press
release that 98 percent of Florida has service. This statement, which includes
customers in Florida that were hundreds of miles away from impacted areas, does
not help Florida’s law enforcement…"⁴ Verizon has since said
that it will give all of its customers in Bay and Gulf counties three free
months of mobile service for having been impacted by the hurricane. 

Verizon has continually attempted to promote its support of first responders
and disaster victims since these incidents. However, the damage done to its
reputation over incidents like those listed above will likely last for years to
come.

Outlook

The biggest thing that Verizon Wireless is focused on is its 5G network
technology – called 5G Ultra Wideband.
In October 2018, the company rolled out its 5G Home network to four US cities – the
first telecommunications provider to do so in the United States. However, a
return on this investment could take awhile. S&P Global Ratings has warned,
"…we have a cautious view on 5G wireless. We believe that accelerated
deployments could hurt balance sheets that are already stretched because of
mergers and acquisitions, mature industry conditions, and competitive pressures.
We believe the revenue growth associated with 5G will be constrained."⁵ 

That being said, the 5G network offers speeds 50 times faster than the 4G
network, and has the capacity to handle larger numbers of Internet of Things
products like home appliances, medical devices, and industrial sensors more
efficiently, all while consuming less device battery power. Verizon Wireless has
continued to roll out 5G in US cities and in 13 NFL stadiums. The company's UWB
services are now available in approximately 71 cities across the country, with
expansions continuing on a regular basis.

Product
Lines

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Verizon Wireless offers voice and data products and services on the nation’s
most reliable wireless voice and data network. Verizon Wireless products and
services for consumer use are listed in Table 1.

Verizon Wireless products and services for business use are listed in Table
2.

Network Description

Verizon Wireless’ primary technology platform is its 4G (fourth generation)
LTE (Long-Term Evolution) network. Available in approximately 500 markets,
this network serves about 332 million people. The 4G LTE
network launched in December 2010 and was billed by Verizon as being 10 times faster
than its previous 3G network with expected average data rates in real-world, loaded
network environments of 5 to 12 mbps on the downlink and 2 to 5 mbps on the
uplink. 

With the popularity of its 4G LTE network, Verizon Wireless developed 5G
technology with a forum of partners and has desensified the current 4G LTE
network to roll out 5G. Currently, the company's speediest 5G is available in 71 cities and more
are preparing to launch. Its slower, sub-6GHz 5G services are already
proliferating nationwide, but offer speeds around what an above average 4G LTE
connection could already provide.

Major Competitors

• Apple: https://www.apple.com/
• AT&T Mobility: https://www.att.com/wireless/
• Google: https://www.google.com/
• Microsoft: https://www.microsoft.com/
• T-Mobile: https://www.t-mobile.com/

Activity

Products and Services

Verizon
Wireless announced that it will roll its Verizon 5G Home broadband
service out in a total of seven new cities over the first
half of June. The new rollout will begin on June 3 with the debut
of 5G services in Columbus, Ohio and Greensboro and Raleigh,
North Carolina. This will be followed by a second wave of
launches on June 10 in Des Moines, Iowa; New Orleans, Louisiana;
Seattle, Washington; and Tucson, Arizona. The broadband
service’s price begins at $50 per month for Verizon Wireless
mobile subscribers, and $70 per month for non-subscribers.
Download speeds range from 300Mbps to 1Gbps.

(06/02/2021)

Verizon
Wireless announced that subscribers to select smartphone
plans will now receive six to 12 free months of either Apple
Arcade or Google Play Pass. The services in question are for
iPhones and Android devices, respectively, and provide access to
a slate of premium mobile games and apps at no additional cost.
Verizon customers on any unlimited plan will receive six months
of free access to the service of their choice, while subscribers
on either the “Play More” or “Get More” plans will receive 12
months of access. Both new and existing customers on qualifying
plans will be able to qualify for the deal. Additional details
and terms can be found within Verizon’s press release.

(05/24/2021)

Verizon
Wireless revealed that it will officially shut down its
legacy 3G CDMA network on December 31, 2022. The carrier had
originally planned to terminate the aging network all the way
back in 2019, but has delayed the process several times. Now, the
official end date finally appears certain. Verizon has not
allowed any new 3G device activations since 2016, meaning very
few handsets are likely to still be operational by the end of
next year. The company is warning that any remaining customers
that do still rely on 3G services should begin transitioning now,
as they could experience “degradation or complete loss of
service” even before the prescribed end-of-life date.

(03/30/2021)

Samsung announced
the launch of its vRAN 2.0 solutions which provide the “first
fully virtualized commercial 5G RAN delivered end-to-end from a
single vendor.” The company claims this new product will provide
carriers with “more programmable networks that dynamically and
efficiently provide the appropriate network resources to
customers who use a variety of advanced wireless services and
applications.” Samsung has already begun providing the new
technology to Verizon
Wireless, which has deployed it as part of its growing 5G network. The
carrier noted that Samsung’s inclusion of Dynamic Spectrum
Sharing (DSS) in its vRAN 2.0 solution will allow it to operate
both 4G LTE and 5G services in the same spectrum band, at the
same time, potentially expanding the available airspace for its
newest wireless protocols.

(01/21/2021)

In a keynote address during CES 2021, Verizon Communications CEO
Hans Vestberg revealed a deal between his company and UPS
Flight Forward that will see Verizon’s network, via its Skyward
subsidiary, powering UPS delivery drones later this year. The
network provided will initially be Verizon’s 4G LTE
infrastructure, but the company plans to switch over to its 5G
hardware as it continues to proliferate across the country. The
announcement was made as part of a wider-reaching speech in
which Vestberg referenced the fact that Verizon’s slower 5G
technology is now available to 230 million US citizens across
2,700 cities. Meanwhile, the company’s faster UWB (Ultra Wide
Band) 5G is being expanded via deals with Live Nation and the NFL
which will bring the company’s 4Gbps speeds to event venues and
stadiums across the country. Finally, the Verizon CEO also
revealed plans to expand his company’s Verizon Forwardprogram, which offers
discounted broadband services to customers that qualify for the
FCC’s Lifeline program.

(01/12/2021)

Verizon
Communications has found yet another use for the Yahoo brand name, leveraging
it to launch its first Yahoo-branded smartphone. The Yahoo Mobile
ZTE Blade A3Y. As its name would suggest, the handset was
manufactured as a budget-minded device by Chinese smartphone
maker ZTE. Hardware features of the unit include a 5.45-inch
720HD display, 2GB of RAM, 32GB of onboard storage, an 8MP
rear camera, a 5MP front-facing camera, and a 2,660 mAh battery.
The company noted that this handset is targeted at customers of
its Yahoo Mobile MVNO service, which debuted in March. The
Yahoo ZTE Blade A3Y is available now for $49.99.

(10/29/2020)

Verizon
Communications has found yet another use for the Yahoo brand name, leveraging
it to launch its first Yahoo-branded smartphone. The Yahoo Mobile
ZTE Blade A3Y. As its name would suggest, the handset was
manufactured as a budget-minded device by Chinese smartphone
maker ZTE. Hardware features of the unit include a 5.45-inch
720HD display, 2GB of RAM, 32GB of onboard storage, an 8MP
rear camera, a 5MP front-facing camera, and a 2,660 mAh battery.
The company noted that this handset is targeted at customers of
its Yahoo Mobile MVNO service, which debuted in March. The
Yahoo ZTE Blade A3Y is available now for $49.99.

(10/29/2020)

Alliances and Joint Ventures

Verizon
Communications‘ has signed an agreement with Amazon Web
Services (AWS) to
leverage Verizon
Wireless‘ 5G network to provide private mobile edge computing
(MEC) to enterprise customers. According to a joint press release, the new offering will provide
“ultra-low latency, higher levels of security and deeper
customization” than competing solutions, while also providing
access to AWS infrastructure, services, APIs, and tools. The pair
plan to be able to deliver their joint offering to “virtually any
datacenter, co-location space, or on-premises facility.” Verizon
and AWS expect their services to be useful for companies wishing
to deploy intelligent logistics, predictive maintenance,
robotics, factory automation, and more. Additional information
about the MEC solution can be found at the link above.

(04/05/2021)

Verizon
Communications‘ has signed an agreement with Amazon Web
Services (AWS) to
leverage Verizon
Wireless‘ 5G network to provide private mobile edge computing
(MEC) to enterprise customers. According to a joint press release, the new offering will provide
“ultra-low latency, higher levels of security and deeper
customization” than competing solutions, while also providing
access to AWS infrastructure, services, APIs, and tools. The pair
plan to be able to deliver their joint offering to “virtually any
datacenter, co-location space, or on-premises facility.” Verizon
and AWS expect their services to be useful for companies wishing
to deploy intelligent logistics, predictive maintenance,
robotics, factory automation, and more. Additional information
about the MEC solution can be found at the link above.

(04/05/2021)

Financials

Verizon
Communications posted its financial results for the first
quarter of its 2021 fiscal year. For the period, the company’s
revenue totaled $25.09 billion, a very minor bump from the $25.03
billion posted for the same quarter in the previous year. Net
income for the quarter was $5.38 billion, up from the previous
first quarter’s $4.29 billion, primarily due to year-over-year
income tax provision reductions. This translated to earnings per
share of $1.27, compared to the $1.00 posted one year ago. On the
subscriber front, Verizon lost a total of 307,000 wireless retail
customers, 82,000 FiOS Video accounts, and 79,000 FiOS Digital
Voice lines. however, it gained a net total of 98,000 FiOS
Internet subs during the same period.

(04/21/2021)

Verizon
Communications posted its financial results for the fourth
quarter and fiscal year 2020. For the final quarter, Verizon
earned revenues of $34.69 billion, a modest drop from the $34.78
billion recorded one year ago. Q4 net income saw a more dramatic
decline, falling to $4.7 billion, or $1.11 per share, compared to
the $5.2 billion, or $1.23 per share posted for the same quarter
in 2019. For the year, Verizon’s revenue was $128.29 billion, a
2.7 percent drop from 2019’s $131.87 billion. Net income here was
$18.35 billion, or $4.30 per share, compared to the previous
year’s $19.78 billion, or $4.66 per share. On the subscriber
front, Verizon reported a fourth-quarter net gain of 307,000
wireless subscribers, less than half of the 731,000 added during
2019’s last quarter. Meanwhile, its FiOS services lost a net
total of 58,000 subscribers, despite FiOS Internet adding 92,000
net new accounts. For the year, Verizon’s Wireless division
produced a loss of 5,000 net subscribers, while its FiOS services
saw a much more dramatic drop of 312,000, once again despite
adding 300,000 new FiOS Internet accounts. Both the quarterly and
year-end losses in FiOS subs can be attributed to the continued
impact of “cord-cutting,” as users continue to flee home phone
and traditional pay-TV services in favor of mobile devices and
streaming subscriptions.

(01/25/2021)

Regulatory

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) signed a “breakthrough”
agreement with the major US carriers that will effectively
commit each to deliver “911 vertical location information,”
across the country, “within seven days.” AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon Wireless will
now work with the agency in a bid to make detailed caller data –
for accessing precise caller locations in multi-level buildings –
pin-pointable to emergency first responders. The FCC first
adopted such rules to improve 911 caller info in 2015, mandating
service providers to deploy “dispatchable location” and / or meet
“z-axis location accuracy requirements” in the “largest 25
markets” by April 3, 2021. The carriers – which were also
required to certify this infrastructure by June 2nd – had
recently sought extensions to test their equipment. Under the new
FCC settlement, the providers have effectively resolved any
investigations into their progress, and agreed to start
accommodating the detailed GPS data within seven days, albeit
now to “public safety entities nationwide.” They will each also
pay a $100,000 fine.

(06/07/2021)

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) revealed the
results of its recently-completed C-Band spectrum auction. In
total, the airspace sale brought in $81 billion in gross bids
from a total of 21 bidders. The big winner of this latest
spectrum distribution was Verizon Communications.
Bidding under the name “Cellco Partnership,” the telecom company
spend a total of $45.45 billion on 3,511 licenses. Verizon’s
direct competitor AT&T came in
a distant second place with $23.4 billion spent on 1,621
licenses, while T-Mobile
spent just a fraction in third place at $9.34 billion paid for
254 licenses. US Cellular also acquired 142 licenses for $1.28
billion. All participants are expected to use their purchased
spectrum to expand their mid-band 5G services across the US. A
total of 5,684 licenses were distributed during the sale.

(02/25/2021)

References

[return to top of this report]

¹ Jon Brodkin. "Verizon Throttled Fire Department’s
‘Unlimited’ Data During California Wildfire." Ars Technica. August
21, 2018. 
² Ibid.
³ Ibid. 
⁴ Jon Brodkin. "Ajit Pai Slams Carriers for Slow Restoration of Cell
Service After Hurricane." Ars Technica. October 16, 2018. 
⁵ Reinhardt Krause. "AT&T, Verizon May Wait Years for 5G Wireless
to Pay Off: Report." Investor’s Business Daily. October 17,
2018. 

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